Southern Illinois University will decide this week how to respond to an appeals court’s ruling that says the university cannot keep from the public the details of contracts for its president and other officials, The Southern Illinoisan newspaper reported.

The university had contended that it had already disclosed the salary and other compensation, including housing allowance, pension, and benefits, of its president, Glenn Poshard. It had argued that the actual contract contained additional private information that should be protected, and a lower court had agreed.

But the Illinois Appellate Court took a different view on Thursday. In a ruling citing part of the state’s public-disclosure law, it said that releasing information that “bears on the public duties of public employees and officials” does not constitute an invasion of privacy. Southern Illinois can appeal the ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court. —Audrey Williams June